Night watch
by Reidluver
Summary: Upon returning to their time, Gokudera's protective enthusiasm for Tsuna's safety reaches a whole new peak, and Tsuna is intent on finding out why. The issue brings up unresolved wounds from the Future.


**Found this just sitting around my computer. Totally forgot about it!**

**Just a little thought I had after reading 292 and 293. As such, there shall be spoilers/foreshadowing for those chapters, so you have been warned!**

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Tsuna popped a slice of toast in his mouth and cast one last glance over his shoulder. Where could Enma have gone? Did he leave for school already without letting him know? Tsuna supposed that while Enma was theoretically supposed to be guarding him, he didn't necessarily have to come to school with him, but well . . . Tsuna would feel a lot better if Enma came with him to school. The guy seemed to always get picked on (_even more so than him!_) and Tsuna didn't want Enma to get hurt anymore.

And for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling there was something very wrong about the whole situation. He didn't think Enma would leave without a good reason. Part of his brain reminded him about his Hyper Intuition and told him to act on it, but the other half pointed out that he was most likely just nervous about having to meet up with the Ninth.

Today was the day he'd give his decision about whether or not to accept the inheritance. Tsuna had spent a lot of his time mulling over the decision, and had finally come to the right one. He was terrified of saying it, but this was what his heart wanted. Plus, he liked to think that over the course of the events ever since Reborn and the others had come into his life, he had grown a bit of backbone. He needed to start sticking up for himself and he wasn't going to be pressured into making a decision he didn't want.

He just hoped his friends saw it the same way.

"Have a good day at school, Tsu-kun!" his mother yelled from the kitchen.

Tsuna gulped down the last piece of toast. "Okay!" He pushed open the door, nearly tripped over the porch steps, and made his way to the front of his house. It was strangely quiet. Usually Gokudera was already here—

Tsuna's heart stopped when he saw Gokudera's hand laying on the pavement _(it was unmistakably his with the amount of bracelets and rings on the hand)_. The rest of the body was behind the wall and out of his sight. Tsuna rushed towards it.

"Gokudera-kun!"

His silver-haired friend was lying on the ground, looking like he had fainted. There wasn't any blood, which Tsuna took to be a good sign, but the fact that Gokudera hadn't stirred from the bright morning sun or when Tsuna called out his name didn't bode well in Tsuna's mind. Horrible images and scenarios played out in his head. Was Gokudera injured as a sort of warning sign for him? Was someone out to get him and in doing so they decided to attack his friends?

Tsuna fell to his knees and reached out to make sure his friend was all right, but before he touched Gokudera he paused. Now that he was closer, Gokudera didn't seem to be injured. He was breathing fine, almost as if he were sleeping. It was then that Tsuna noticed the small bags under Gokudera's eyes, and a horrible thought occurred to him. He looked around a little more, and noticed that in Gokudera's other hand was a flashlight.

Now Tsuna was angry. Had Gokudera been keeping a night watch over him? How long had this been going on? Had his friend gotten any sleep? By Tsuna's guess he hadn't, if the fact that Gokudera had passed out in front of his house was any indication.

Why did Gokudera constantly do this? Tsuna always felt uncomfortable but also touched by Gokudera's intense devotion, yet it typically came at the cost of Gokudera's well-being. Gokudera would always put Tsuna's feelings before his own, tend to his injuries first, and would regularly buy him food or other such things. Tsuna had no idea of what Gokudera's budget was like, but he had a feeling that between the gifts, cigarettes, and dynamite, Gokudera probably didn't have that much left for more essential things.

And it made him mad. He could understand Gokudera's need to impress and help him from what Reborn had told him of his friend's past, but the way Gokudera was going about it was all wrong. Tsuna couldn't accept any of Gokudera's help when he knew the bomber was disregarding his own sake for Tsuna's.

He had to go about this delicately and slowly though, or else Gokudera would take it the wrong way. It was Tsuna's job to look after Gokudera as well as all his other friends. Reborn would attribute it to being the boss, but Tsuna refused to believe that way. They were his dear friends, nothing more.

Tsuna reached out and gently shook his friend's shoulder. "Gokudera-kun? It's time to wake up."

Gokudera didn't respond for a few seconds, in which time Tsuna feared his friend was too exhausted to wake properly. Suddenly, the bomber shot up, grabbed Tsuna by the throat, and held up the flashlight like a dagger.

"_Cosa diavolo vuoi?_"

Tsuna tried to gulp. He had no idea what Gokudera had said (_was that Italian?)_ but he had a feeling it couldn't be good. Even half-asleep Gokudera was quite frightening. He opened his mouth to speak, but found he couldn't. How was Gokudera this strong and when did he get reflexes like that?

Gokudera stared at him for a moment longer through half-lidded eyes, then they widened in horrified realization. He let go of Tsuna like the touch burned him and scrambled up against the wall.

"I'M SO SORRY, TENTH!" he wailed. "I should have known it was you!" Gokudera then knelt in an all too familiar position and brought his head to the ground before Tsuna could stop him. It appeared that Gokudera wasn't fully awake yet, because he slammed his forehead onto the ground too forcefully and fell over on his side in a daze.

Tsuna took a final, shuddering gasp for air before scrambling to Gokudera's side. The bomber was staring up at the sky with glossy eyes and there was a large red welt on his forehead.

"Gokudera-kun! Are you all right?"

Gokudera turned his unfocused eyes on Tsuna and tried to smile. "S'kay . . . 'nth. I'm . . . a-all right."

Tsuna huffed. "No you're not." He then grasped Gokudera's shoulders and helped the bomber into a seated position where he then leaned against the wall for support. Tsuna gingerly touched Gokudera's forehead and ignored the boy's slight hiss of pain. "Well, I guess as long as you're not bleeding and speaking properly it's not a concussion, right?"

"I . . . I guess so." Gokudera blinked and squinted. "Tenth—what happened?"

All of Tsuna's anger returned at the sight of his dazed, exhausted, and rumpled friend before him. He folded his arms with a huff and tried to give Gokudera his best glare. "You passed out in front of my house. Have you been keeping a night watch on me?"

Gokudera perked up. "Of course, Tenth! No one else is more suited to watch over you 24/7—"

"And how long have you been doing this?"

"Um . . . ever since Reborn told us about that Family that was causing trouble." Gokudera was staring at him in confusion. "What's wrong, Tenth?"

Tsuna took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose. Why was it that Gokudera could be so brilliant at math and theories but he was a complete idiot at things like this? "You haven't been getting any sleep."

Gokudera looked a little sheepish. "Uh . . . that's not um—exactly true. I've . . . gotten a little sleep—"

"Stop lying!" Tsuna balled his hands into fists. Why was it that after everything they've been through, Gokudera _still_ acted like this? That night in the future when Gokudera had announced that he wanted to be Tsuna's right-hand man for an entirely different reason, for the reason of having fun together, Tsuna had thought all his troubles with Gokudera's odd obsession were over. He thought that it meant that Gokudera would now start taking better care of himself. Apparently he still had a way to go. Preferring life over death though, was hardly anything to scoff at, so Tsuna figured the worst was at least over.

"I appreciate how much you care about me and how protective you are, but if you keep hurting yourself to do it then I don't want your help at all!"

Crap—he had been too forceful. Gokudera was looking at Tsuna like the world had ended and he had nothing else to live for. He had better fix this before things got out of hand.

Tsuna sighed and rubbed his temple. "Look—Gokudera-kun . . . what I mean is that our friendship goes both ways. If you look out and care for me, then can't I at least have the chance to do that for you?"

"Don't worry, Tenth! You do that every day!" Gokudera said. "I could never make it up to you for all you've done for me, so I have to always do my best. And being on the constant lookout for enemies that might attack you is no problem. I won't even let them get near you!"

Tsuna's eyes widened. Now he understood Gokudera's peculiar actions over the past few days. Not that he really minded, but Tsuna had been confused as to why Gokudera would leave him with one of his Guardians and a Shimon family member so he could go and scout the perimeter. He would have thought Gokudera would insist to be the only one keeping personal watch over him, because that was just who he was.

Now Tsuna knew that by keeping a distance, Gokudera was hoping to be able to come into contact with assassins before they even reached Tsuna and the others. It let Gokudera be the first one to engage the enemy, stop them before Tsuna even knew they were there.

As touched as Tsuna was by his friend's devotion, he knew he had to do something quick before Gokudera got himself killed trying to play the hero.

And while Gokudera doing all this would seem like normal behavior for him, Tsuna knew there had to be more to it. He was used to Gokudera's obsessive devotion, his growling and threats when anyone got too close, glares when anyone said something less than deserving of him—but this was different. Gokudera was abandoning sleep to keep watch over him and if Tsuna had to guess he wouldn't be surprised if the bomber was also skipping meals. Did Gokudera look thinner? Tsuna made a mental note to invite him over more for dinner. _(With Bianchi properly concealed and all)_

"Gokudera-kun . . . why are you doing this? I mean—it's not like I don't appreciate it but . . . why are you trying so hard? Shouldn't two people guarding me be enough?"

His response was immediate. "There can never be enough people on the lookout, Tenth! Your safety is the first priority of your Guardians." His voice grew quiet and he glanced at his hands and clenched them tightly "I'm never going to let _that_ happen."

Tsuna's heart sank. So that was it then—the main reason behind Gokudera's spike in his obsessive tendencies. Tsuna really had no idea that his future self's "death" still had that much of an impact on Gokudera. Though, considering how the bomber's older self had acted, perhaps it wasn't that hard to believe.

"Gokudera-kun . . . my older self didn't die, remember?" he said gently.

"I . . . I know Tenth but . . . but you still could have been. And I'm never going to let that happen!" Tsuna's spirits fell at the anguish and furious look in Gokudera's eyes. He knew none of the anger was directed towards him, but it might as well been.

After all he'd been through in the future, Tsuna had been able to see the logic in his older self's decision. He knew deep down that it was the only way the matter with Byakuran could have been solved _(as much as Tsuna hated to admit it)_ but he still found himself furious with the older Tsuna. How could he have done that to all his dear friends? Tsuna had acted like he didn't see it, but he saw the pain in older Gokudera and Yamamoto's eyes when they saw him. He then watched his friends struggle to grasp the concept that in ten years time Tsuna would be dead.

Thankfully, after hearing that Tsuna hadn't really died, they were able to come to terms with it and put the matter behind them. All except Gokudera it seemed. Now he appeared obsessed to succeed where he believed his older self had failed. And Tsuna knew he had to stop him before he hurt himself. But how to help him?

Well, he didn't have the answer to that just yet, but he did have an idea on how to get Gokudera to sleep.

"Gokudera-kun . . . I really appreciate all you're doing for me, but I also really want you to get some sleep. How about until all of this is over you can sleep over at my house? This way, if any enemies come you'll be right there _and _you can get some sleep."

"Oh, I . . . I couldn't impose on the Tenth like that—"

Tsuna fought the urge to sigh. "Gokudera-kun, it's okay, _really._ Everyone stays at my house anyway and you wouldn't be a bother. Honest. I'd really appreciate it if you would." Well that did it. Gokudera's face lit up and Tsuna couldn't help but smile back. Now he could force Gokudera to get some sleep. If Gokudera ever did face the enemy before anyone else did, he would be in serious danger because of his sleep deprivation and Tsuna couldn't bear to lose him. He was prepared to drug Gokudera's food with sleeping pills if he had to. Reborn would most likely have some, crazy as he was.

"Of course! If the Tenth says so then I will be honored." He still looked a little tense about staying over and Tsuna fought the urge to sigh in exasperation once again. Really, why did Gokudera feel so bad about staying over? Last time Tsuna checked it was something friends did, right? And truthfully—he felt a little excited at the prospect. The only person who had ever stayed over in his room was Reborn, and there was no way that was fun at all. Tsuna had never been to or had a sleepover, so this could be exciting!

"All right." Tsuna stood up and held out a hand for Gokudera, who looked like he was about to protest for a moment, then must have realized it would have been rude even if he didn't want to impose upon Tsuna, and accepted the hand with an embarrassed blush. "Tonight you're going to get some decent rest, Gokudera-kun. Nothing is going to happen so you don't need to keep worrying, okay?"

"Sure thing, Tenth."

A few minutes later they were joined by Yamamoto, and for some reason Tsuna had this sickening feeling, like the kind you got when the ground suddenly disappeared beneath you and you fell into nothingness. He shook his head and shrugged it off. He was just feeling nervous from what he had to tell the Ninth later on.

Right?

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**QUICK NOTE: Okay, so with so many people putting this story on alert I feel I must come out and say it—this is a ONESHOT. If you look at the top of the page, it says "Complete." I must admit I'm flattered, but this is just a quick oneshot. Unless someone gives me an idea for something else I could write and it makes me want to write more, then I guess I'll just have to write more. :) But as of now, I'm not writing anything else to go with the story guys. Sorry. **

**Sorry to have it end so sadly. :( I was quite depressed after finding out what happened to Yamamoto. Hope you enjoyed the story!**

**Geez****—why am I so obsessed with the repercussions of TYL!Tsuna pretending to be dead? Seems to be the theme of all my KHR stories lately. Oh well.  
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